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Star Trek’s Karl Urban to Play Villain in Priest Film

The Hollywood Reporter newspaper writes that actor Karl Urban (Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings, The Bourne Supremacy) will play the villain in Screen Gems’ live-action film adaptation of Min-Woo Hyung‘s Priest horror manhwa. Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, The Da Vinci Code), Cam Gigandet (Twilight, The O.C.), and Maggie Q (Mission: Impossible III, Live Free or Die Hard, King of Fighters)arealsostarring in the film. The manhwa tells the story of an expert in ancient languages who accidentally resurrects an angel from Hell, Temozareal. The man is forced to sell his soul to the Devil in a attempt to correct his mistake. Cory Goodman (The Brood) wrote the movie adaptation’s script.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film version “is set in a world ravaged by war between man and vampire.” Bettany stars as a priest hunting down vampires who have kidnapped his niece. Gigandet and Q play the sheriff and priestess, respectively, who help the title character on his quest. Urban plays Black Hat, a former priest and hunter who now proclaims himself “the god of vampires.” Scott Charles Stewart, a co-founder of the Orphanage special effects studio, already agreed to direct the project.

The North American publisher Tokyopopannounced in 2001 that it had acquired the original Priestmanhwa. Michael De Luca, Stars Road Entertainment’s Josh Donen, and Mitchell Peck are producing the live-action film version. Andrew Douglas was originally slated to direct the actors Gerard Butler and Steven Strait in the film, but that version never came together.